trevor

I would think presentation would be really high on the list.

Man, you know how to treat your bait monkey nice!

A while ago I heard a suggestion to help reduce pollution around your favorite fishing spots, and I thought I would pass it on here. The suggestion was to take just 5 minutes at the end of every fishing trip and clean up the area. I think it's a great idea, and I think it could really help keep our waters clean. Just a thought.

Thanks for the encouragement. I did not stick to my game plan... I tried everything to no avail. Are you guys thinking fish deep? Also I was able to go striper fishing that night with great success. 8 striper landed, 3 bluefish, and many stripers and blues got off.

So today I went to the Pocomoke River. I had been looking forward to this trip for about a week. I had a full tank of gas, every lure I own, and a game plan. I was going to cast spinnerbaits around lily pad edges, laydowns, and shallow lily pad beds. I had a jig rod to flip around cyprus roots and laydowns. I had a spinning rod with a wacky rig to fish little laydowns. I had a buzzbait rod to cast over pads. I fished every way I know how. I tried areas with wood structure, plant structure, lots of current, no current, shade, sun, back creeks, main channel. Nothing. Not a freaking bite. I don't know what I did wrong! VERY frustrating trip, and any tips are appreciated.

I can't comment on the C400, but I have the XS1000 and I think it is great. If it was me, I would go with the Premier or the Compre, I have both of those rods and they are both very similar. I can't comment on the others, although the Vendettas feel pretty tip heavy. Maybe look at the Lamiglas Excels and Falcon Bucoos in that price range, heard good things about both.

I live in OC MD during the summer, working as a mate. Spinnerbaits work well for flounder, but I think your best bet for bass fishing techniques would be a heavy ballhead jig with a Gulp! Swimming Minnow in white, pink, or chartreuse. Pink has been hotter than normal this year, but I would still go with white. Bounce the jig along the bottom, going with the current. Look for clear water with current, deep is good, and you'll find the flatties. There are still stripers around the bridge and the south jetty. As far as lures for the striper, use anything large and flashy. Spinnerbaits, or minnow/jerkbaits in natural baitfish colors. Saltwater predators often stage where current congregates baitfish. Look for the diving birds, and you can often find stipers or bluefish under them. Flounder: Current, clear water, current breaks. Fish artificials imitating baitfish swimming ALONG the BOTTOM. The first strike of a flounder it kills the prey then spits it back out. The second one it comes in to eat. Flounder lay on the bottom, so they see the bottom of the bait, which is usually white.

I'm conflicted on this subject, as far as with the common carp. Carp are invasive, but as stated I know plenty of places where bass and carp coexist. I have bowfished for carp when I was around 12 and loved it, but now that I catch and release carp, I would feel bad about it. It's like if a bass fisherman went bow fishing for bass... just weird. I definitely won't say it's wrong to do, but I don't do it. I find it much more satisfying to try to fool them with artificials, and the good fight they put up is great. I do however not like to see the guys just chuck them up on the bank to die. Seems disrespectful, and it gives sportsmen a bad name.

Bipolar moron?

"According to Cornwall, carp are very smart fish. He surprised the audience with the news that, while the average fish has an IQ of 6, carp are relative geniuses, with an IQ of 12. Carp also have excellent color vision, an especially well-developed sense of taste and smell, which is really one sense for fish, and they are blessed with exceptionally keen hearing. Knowing this, it is easy to understand why carp pose such a challenge for fly fishermen." Check out this website: http://carponthefly.blogspot.com/

How did you know how sensitive it was in BPS?

Does anybody have any experience with the Carrot Stix Wild? I picked up a 7' Medium today for fishing the Pocomoke River in MD. Almost every review I read on them has been positive so far, just looking for any extra opinions.

I've felt it in store. It just feels too thin, like it would just dig into itself constantly. And they only make it up to 12 pound, I think. And I thought braid could get nasty knots, I can't begin to imagine a knot in this stuff.

I feel your pain, man. I've done that so many times

So which USA rod in the 200 dollar price range would you want?

I know what you mean, I've had it happen with a Daiwa. Very annoying. I was told that it was something to do with a gear... I never got it fixed.

Here is my list of things I hate about EVA: 1. The look: in my opinion its very ugly. On the other hand a nice cork grip is beautiful, especially the custom grips with multiple kinds of cork. 2. In my experience with EVA, some grips tend to "rot", I'm not sure of the term. They shrink and feel like they've been dried out. 3. EVA seems to me to get pretty hot on hot days. 4. I HATE HATE HATE the feeling of my wet/slimy hands sliding on EVA. To me it's like nails on a chalkboard. Just this fact alone would be enough for me to buy custom rods if the switchover is ever made. Again, can't stress enough how much I hate the feeling when it slips through my wet hands. Ugh.

It seems that more and more rod manufacturers are going with foam grips. :angry: So do you guys like these new foam grips, and do you think they are here to stay, or will cork make a comeback?

Thanks, but I was actually saying that I know the pinion gear is "marine grade bronze", from the box. I was wondering if anyone knows what the main gear material is, though.

They look sweet! I've had Daiwa spinning reels that had gearing issues before. Does anyone know what type of metal Daiwa gears are made of? Specifically the drive gear, I could tell the pinion was bronze.

And their rods are now split foam grips... which sucks.

Yep that's a sweet combo right there. I would personally go with a Shimano Sahara, but both reels have solid reputations.

Sufix Elite on my spinning gear, Sufix Siege on baitcasting gear